Earlier this month, the Calgary Police Service announced that, by year’s end, 800 of its patrol officers would be equipped with body-worn cameras (BWCs). BWCs are small video cameras that record a police officer’s interactions with the public during a routine — or, importantly, not so routine — patrol. Calgary will be the first major Canadian city to adopt the cameras for general use, though many police forces across Canada are studying them or preparing trial projects.

We support the use of BWCs. Sometimes, a controversial incident between officers and civilians may be caught on a police cruiser’s dashboard camera, by a nearby surveillance camera or by a passerby with a camera-equipped cellphone. Too often, however, we are left with two completely different narratives of an event, with no real way to fairly separate truth from self-serving exaggerations, if not outright lies.

Of course, no piece of technology will ever suffice to capture all the relevant facts of a controversial encounter. But it is still a far better option than the status quo.

BWCs and dashboard cameras have already proven their worth in the United States. They are a true win-win, as studies have shown officers are more cautious in their use of force when equipped with a BWC, and the public is also far less likely to file complaints of misconduct against innocent officers. More restrained police, and fewer bogus allegations, is the best of both worlds — and something we should be pursuing in Canada.

Admittedly, there are privacy implications. How the data they collect will be stored and used will need to be determined. Alberta’s privacy commissioner has already said she is studying Calgary’s proposal, and that is to be welcomed. A successful rollout there, balancing operational needs and privacy rights, can serve as a model for the rest of Canada’s large police forces. We wish Calgary’s police success in their project.

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/22/national-post-editorial-board-police-cameras-are-a-win-win/feed/0stdcameraWoman with up to 40 aliases posed as teen sex trafficking victim in Ireland before police arrested her in Calgaryhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/06/woman-with-up-to-40-aliases-posed-as-teen-sex-trafficking-victim-in-ireland-before-police-arrested-her-in-calgary/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/10/06/woman-with-up-to-40-aliases-posed-as-teen-sex-trafficking-victim-in-ireland-before-police-arrested-her-in-calgary/#commentsMon, 06 Oct 2014 19:40:25 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=527211

An Australian woman charged in Ireland last year after falsely claiming she was a teenage sex trafficking victim has been rearrested in Calgary after making similar claims, police say.

Calgary police revealed details on Monday of the bizarre case which includes an alias, claims of abduction and prolonged assault, and an international investigation that reached Ireland.

According to police, on Sept. 16, 2014, a woman walked into a northeast Calgary health centre “and made claims she was a 14-year-old who was the victim of an abduction and prolonged sexual assault.”

The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment, and Calgary police were called to investigate, according to a CPS statement.

For several weeks, investigators and health care workers spent countless hours working with the alleged victim to establish the extent of her abuse and provide services for her recovery

Police said the woman used a false name “Aurora Hepburn,” and told investigators she’d endured “years of violent sexual abuse and torture.

“For several weeks, investigators and health care workers spent countless hours working with the alleged victim to establish the extent of her abuse and provide services for her recovery,” Calgary police said.

On Oct. 2, however, police were tipped off about a similar case investigated last year in Dublin, Ireland. In that case, Irish investigators determined the woman’s claims were fake, and she was charged, Calgary police said.

“After liaising with the Gardai [Irish police service], it was determined the woman in Calgary was indeed believed one and the same. She was then taken into police custody and transported to Westwinds Campus where she was charged,” according to CPS.

Calgary Police ServiceSamantha Lyndell Azzopardi, 26, was charged with public mischief to mislead a peace officer for allegedly falsely claiming to have been abducted and sexually abused.

Samantha Lyndell Azzopardi, 26, originally from Sydney, Australia, is charged with public mischief to mislead police officers, Calgary police said.

According to a report in the Irish Independent newspaper, Azzopardi became known as the “GPO Girl” after she was found by authorities wandering the streets in Dublin.

She convinced police she was a teenage sex trafficking victim from Eastern Europe and spoke no English during the time she was under protection as Irish authorities launched an international search on her behalf, the newspaper reported. According to the Independent, Azzopardi has “no fewer than 40 previous aliases.”

She was sent back to Australia last year, the report said.

Calgary police are set to release further information on the case later today.

City police are asking anyone with information about Azzopardi’s movements in Calgary to call Crime Stoppers.

Calgary police say closed-circuit video and tips from the public are bringing them closer to understanding what happened to a missing five-year-old boy and his grandparents.

But homicide unit Staff-Sgt. Doug Andrus said investigators still don’t have any suspects they can name.

“We have no suspects we can name, but … we have information that’s allowed us to move forward with this investigation,” Andrus said at a news conference Thursday.

We’re very confident that we are going to find these family members and we are hoping that we are going to find them alive

“I think everyone here, first of all, wants to ensure that we do a complete and thorough investigation. We identify the people responsible and we hold them accountable and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.

“Are we closer than yesterday, I would say we are.”

In the last 24 hours, the case has become “less of a mystery to us,” Andrus said. “I can’t comment on the degree.”

Nathan O’Brien and Alvin and Kathy Liknes were reported missing Monday and police believe their disappearance is suspicious.

The boy had been at his grandparents’ on a sleepover after the couple held an estate sale at their home on the weekend. Police have said there was evidence the three may have been forced from the home.

Andrus repeated what he said Wednesday when Nathan’s parents made an impassioned plea for the return of their son.

“We’re very confident that we are going to find these family members and we are hoping that we are going to find them alive,” he said.

Andrus said officers have closed-circuit video from homes and business near the Liknes’ house and it’s helping with the investigation.

He said police are also getting information from the public, including the people who attended the estate sale.

Police had asked anyone who attended the sale and bought something to bring a photo of the item to a community centre Thursday and speak with investigators. Six tables manned by police officers with notepads were set up inside for interviews.

Andrus estimated as many as 300 people attended the sale. He said between 20 and 30 had gone to the community centre as of Thursday afternoon.

“I would say it is less a mystery to us. I can’t comment on the degree. Again, we are getting good information coming in and we are going through it and determining the relevance to the investigation,” he said.

Police also took family members through the home to get a better sense of whether anything was missing.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntoshRod and Jennifer O'Brien left, look on as Jeff Liknes, second from right, speaks to the media about his nephew Nathan O'Brien and his parents Alvin and Kathryn Liknes during a press conference in Calgary on Wednesday, July 2, 2014.

The grandparents were planning a move to Edmonton and then on to Mexico when they disappeared.

Police have said there are no custody issues with the family — the boy’s parents are married and he is their biological son. Police have also said officers have no history with the family. All of the family’s vehicles have been accounted for.

A blog has been established so Canadians can send messages to the family along with information on how to reach Crime Stoppers.

One person wrote about meeting the missing boy once at a birthday party.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntoshPolice tape cordons off the home where five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents Alvin and Kathryn Liknes disappeared, in Calgary, Alta., Wednesday, July 2, 2014.

“Nathan was such a graceful and polite little man,” said the poster who gave the name Susan Bergquist. “We are doing all we can here in Red Deer to help out with social media and will be here for any further efforts to help with the return of Alvin, Kathy and Nathan.”

Another person offered a message of hope.

“Every day, I am thinking of Nathan and his grandparents. I believe that they will come home safe to their family,” wrote the person who gave the name Selina Bishop.

“The police are working hard to solve this one. Someone saw something, and today they will find that someone — and that will be the clue that leads them to Nathan. Stay strong. Love each other.”

Ted Rhodes/Calgary HeraldRod O'Brien breaks down alongside his wife Jennifer as the couple address a press conference regarding their missing son Nathan at Calgary Police headquarters Wednesday July 2, 2014.

The provincial government paid Calgary police more than $600,000 to provide added protection to then premier Alison Redford after she raised concerns about short-staffing and security incidents while under the watch of Alberta Sheriffs.

Documents obtained by the Calgary Herald through a freedom-of-information request to Alberta Justice and Solicitor General show CPS billed the provincial government $638,813.96 between November 2012 and February 2014 for taking control of Redford’s security detail when the premier and her family were in Calgary and Canmore.

The arrangement continued until Redford’s resignation in March, despite the sheriffs stating in mid-2013 they were ready to resume full control of her detail in Calgary.

“We began staffing up and were ready to take back full responsibilities for full protection services in Calgary by June. This was clearly communicated to all concerned, but direction from the premier’s office was for CPS to remain engaged,” Rick Taylor, executive director of the sheriffs and security operations branch, wrote in an internal government email.

Invoices show Calgary police billed the government $283,395.86 for protecting Redford and her family between June 2013 and February 2014 — after the sheriffs said they were capable of doing the job themselves.

Despite the sheriffs’ assertion they were capable, Redford’s office was in the process of having CPS fully take over her detail in Calgary — at a potential added cost of $1.2 million a year — when she abruptly resigned in March, amid controversy over questionable expenses and her management style.

Redford could not be reached for comment Friday.

The executive protection unit (EPU) of the Alberta Sheriffs is mandated to provide personal protection for the premier, the premier’s family and other VIPs, but internal emails and memos show Redford began expressing dissatisfaction with them shortly after becoming premier in October 2011.

In a chronology of events he prepared for his superiors, then-deputy chief sheriff Neil LeMay wrote the complaints started in December 2011.

“Premier complains that EPU members are ‘too close’ and keep ruining her photo ops by appearing in them at her side. EPU is instructed to give her more space,” wrote LeMay, who left Alberta Sheriffs in May 2013.

In early 2012, another sheriff was removed from the team after Redford said the officer wasn’t “compatible with her needs.”

A further entry from 2012 lists “Wurst Restaurant incident” on Aug. 30 — but provided no further detail.

However, within a matter of days, Redford contacted Calgary police about joining her security detail.

“CPS contacts me and advises that premier has contacted chief of CPS and expressed concerns about her security. They advise premier does not have faith in sheriffs to respond appropriately if there is an attack on her life similar to the premier-elect (sic) of Quebec just experienced,” LeMay wrote in an entry dated September 2012.

The entry refers to a shooting that occurred outside a victory rally for then-Quebec premier Pauline Marois in Montreal on Sept. 4, 2012.

Redford’s request touched off meetings between police and government officials.

Meanwhile, incidents with Redford’s security detail continued. A redacted entry from LeMay noted an unspecified incident involving Redford’s preteen daughter and a request for a female sheriff to be assigned to her in October 2012.

A month later, Redford told officials she was “accosted” at an event in Calgary.

“Premier advises she was accosted by a drunk female at an event at the BMO Centre and her security failed to intervene. Security advises they were within 15 feet of her and they did not see the incident,” LeMay noted.

LeMay’s chronology notes that in November 2012, Redford requested the removal of a male sheriff because he was “not compatible” with her needs and the removal of a female sheriff for being “not compatible” for her daughter’s needs.

At this point, LeMay noted the departures created a “staffing crunch” that prompted sheriffs to seek assistance from CPS when Redford was in Calgary.

The premier’s security arrangements have traditionally been handled by the chief of staff. In this case, Redford’s chief, Farouk Adatia, approved the addition of Calgary police officers — though the number was redacted from the documents provided by the government.

The number of sheriffs assigned to executive protection is a closely guarded secret for security reasons, but it’s believed there are about a dozen divided between Calgary and Edmonton. The internal documents pegged the executive protection unit’s budget at $2.3 million, mainly for salaries and benefits.

The documents show that complaints persisted after sheriffs filled the vacancies in their ranks in the latter part of 2013, with Redford asking for CPS officers to protect her daughter.

“The premier wants more consistency in who provides security for [redacted] and has made it clear she wants only female personnel assigned to this role,” said a departmental briefing note from November 2013.

The request went to Alberta Justice and Solicitor General officials for approval, with Adatia sending several emails complaining about delays until two female CPS officers were assigned to the detail on Dec. 6.

Ten days later, Adatia sent a memo to deputy solicitor general Tim Grant requesting a new agreement with CPS, giving police full responsibility for protecting Redford and her family when they were in Calgary.

Departmental officials studied the cost of hiring CPS compared with the current cost of the EPU and concluded the police would cost approximately $1.2 million annually, compared to $945,401 for the southern Alberta sheriff detail.

However, departmental officials pointed out the added cost would be much higher than that $300,000 differential, since the southern Alberta sheriffs would have to remain on the job to protect Redford when she wasn’t in Calgary. The extra cost would be the entire $1.2 million projected to bring in the police.

In an email sent on Dec. 29, 2013, Solicitor General Jonathan Denis said his department wouldn’t oppose the move, but said the premier’s office should be aware of the costs.

“While there will of course be no resistance in our department to this request, I do believe it is our responsibility to advise of all the facts, especially any increased costs,” Denis wrote.

In an interview Friday, Denis said Adatia had the ultimate say over Redford’s security arrangements.

Denis said he personally raised his concerns about the costs with Redford, but he wouldn’t have been able to scuttle the deal.

“We did have a conversation about the costs. I did express a concern about it, unfortunately I didn’t have the final say,” Denis said.

The amended agreement with CPS was never signed before Redford’s resignation. Premier Dave Hancock terminated the deal with Calgary police upon taking office.

The opposition Wildrose party said continuing to pay Calgary police to provide security for Redford and planning to expand their role is an indictment not just of the former premier, but of the PC government as a whole.

“It taints all of them for not having the principles to stand up when [Redford] was clearly out of line.”

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/05/11/alison-redford-ran-up-638000-bill-for-police-protection-because-she-wasnt-satisfied-with-alberta-sheriffs/feed/0stdAlison RedfordMatthew de Grood’s texts sent his father out into the night to find his son … too late to stop Calgary stabbingshttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/04/18/matthew-de-groods-texts-sent-his-father-out-into-the-night-to-find-his-son-too-late-to-stop-calgary-stabbings/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/04/18/matthew-de-groods-texts-sent-his-father-out-into-the-night-to-find-his-son-too-late-to-stop-calgary-stabbings/#commentsFri, 18 Apr 2014 15:17:45 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=455460

Matthew de Grood sent texts to his parents on the night five Calgary university students were stabbed that so alarmed his parents, his father Doug left the house to search for him and his mother Susan called police, says a police officer who knows the de Grood family.
But the father was unable to locate his son in time to prevent the mass stabbing that has left Matt in a psychiatric facility awaiting assessment of his mental state and Doug de Grood devastated and struggling to understand.
“We will never recover from this,” the father Doug said at a news conference Thursday. “We hope someday to have answers to why this happened.”

Related

The officer who knows the de Groods said their concern after reading the texts was that Matt was going to harm himself.
“Let’s just say Matt was acting very strangely leading up to this tragedy,” said the veteran police officer who is close friends with the suspect’s father, Doug, an inspector with the Calgary Police Service, where he has worked for 33 years.
“That evening, Doug and [his wife] Susan got some text messages from Matt that were really disjointed, really confusing and they caused them to think, ‘Oh, my goodness, he’s going to commit suicide.’ They were really worried, so Doug went looking for him and was worried sick that he was going to find him dead. Susan called in a concern to the police – an alert. And then they got the terrible news that this had happened,” says the officer, who spoke only on the condition that he not be identified.

Matthew de Grood, 22, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder following the deaths of five young people, stabbed at a house party at 11 Butler Crescent in Brentwood near the University of Calgary.
The accused was an invited guest to the low-key party held on what’s called Bermuda Shorts Day, a 53-year tradition that marks the last day of classes at the U of C where some of the victims attended. It’s alleged de Grood had worked a shift at the Crowfoot Safeway prior to arriving at the Brentwood home.
The murders of Lawrence Hong, 27; Josh Hunter, 23; Kaitlin Perras, 23; Zackariah Rathwell, 21 and Jordan Segura, 22, has left Calgary and indeed all of the country reeling.
De Grood, who was captured by a Calgary police canine unit several blocks from the murders, was initially taken to Rockyview Hospital to be treated for bite injuries.
He made a brief first court appearance via a telephone call to his room at the Rockyview late Tuesday.

Leah Hennel/Postmedia NewsCalgary police chief Rick Hanson speaks to members of the media about the mass murder of five people in Calgary on April 15, 2014.

According to news reports, when Justice of the Peace Scott Morgan asked the suspect, “Mr. de Grood, do you understand the charges,” de Grood answered: “Um, no comment.”
“I just need to know if you understand what you’ve been charged with,” said Morgan after he read out the names of the five victims.
“I’m not sure,” answered de Grood, who has since been moved to the Southern Alberta
Forensic Psychiatry Centre – a secure psychiatric facility in northwest Calgary pending a court appearance next week.
Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson told reporters on Tuesday that the knife used in the attack was obtained at the Butler Crescent home prior to the murders that occurred at about 1:20 a.m.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougalStudents comfort one another during a Mount Royal University memorial service for victims of Tuesday's fatal stabbings in Calgary, Alta. on Thursday, April 17, 2014.

Neighbours near the house say the party was so quiet they didn’t even know a party was going on – there was no loud music or any disruptions.
“A couple of days leading up to this, Doug said he and Susan noticed a change in Matt, where he would go quiet,” said the police officer, who praised Insp. de Grood for being “just a top-notch person.”
“Then on that night, those texts (Matt) sent made them really concerned about his own personal safety, but nothing to indicate that he was a danger to anyone. Not ever. There was no indication that he was in the frame of mind that he would harm anybody,” said the officer.
“They never feared that he was ever going to hurt anybody other than maybe himself. No indication of that at all.
“This kid was a homebody. He had friends but he liked to stay home. He was successful and a good and gentle young man, by all accounts.”
De Grood graduated from the U of C with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in Law and Society, and was accepted into the university’s law school for the fall of 2014.

Doug and Susan saw him withdraw into himself but there was nothing for them to think that he could cause harm to anyone or that he was at risk to be violent

According to a health-care professional who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, de Grood was being treated for mental health issues dating back to his years as a high school student at St. Francis High School.
“In the weeks leading up to the event, Doug and Susan had noticed some subtle changes in Matt’s personality – him becoming a little more withdrawn but nothing that caused them grave concern. They’d be talking to him and he’d go silent,” said the police officer who has known Doug de Grood for decades.
“Doug and Susan saw him withdraw into himself but there was nothing for them to think that he could cause harm to anyone or that he was at risk to be violent. Why would they?” asked the officer.
“He was a really gentle and kind young man. This is totally out of character for him. The whole family is devastated by this, for the families of the young people killed. Totally devastated. Shattered. We all are.”
The mass slayings has drawn a steady stream of friends and residents to a growing makeshift memorial close to the Brentwood home where the tragedy took place.

Stuart Gradon/Postmedia NewsFriends of Lawrence Hong, one of the five victims, at the memorial near the scene of a mass homicide, that left five people dead Tuesday, on Butler Cresent in Calgary, Alberta Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

But many who have come to pay their respects are parents of children around the same age as the five victims, strangers who didn’t know the dead but still arrive with tears in their eyes.
Norma Corraini, whose son knew some of the slain students as well as the accused killer, brought a bouquet to the site Wednesday afternoon.
“I feel so awful for the parents, all the parents,” Corraini said, her voice trembling and her eyes wet with tears. “I feel like I can’t do anything else for them, so I just came to bring some flowers.”
Her son, a 22-year-old University of Calgary student, was at a different party just a few blocks away the night of the killings. She said she was relieved to learn her son was not among the victims, but felt guilty for feeling that relief.
“I feel so guilty because I’m glad it wasn’t my son,” she said.
“It’s just incomprehensible that you don’t really know what to feel except I’m just thinking about them constantly. I’m not even sleeping and it’s not even my son. You can’t even imagine what those people are going through.”
“Also the parents of the accused. They’ve lost their whole lives.”